Text: Isaiah 1:10-20
This morning’s scripture… wow.
These are the words God speaks to the prophet Isaiah as he is called into service. This is the message that Isaiah is called to shared with the kings and rulers of Israel, the children of God.
God, who created them…
God, who rescued them from slavery in Egypt…
God, who formed them into a people…
God, who loves them now is filled with anger and frustration and heartache.
The children God raised have rebelled.
They have abandoned God’s ways and have turned against one another.
And yet in their worship, they pretend as if everything is okay.
Isaiah is sent to these rulers to point out that there is a disconnect between their practices and their praises of God.
They claim to be faithful.
They go through all of the motions.
But their actions inside the sanctuary have no impact on what they do when they leave the temple. The poor, the needy, the strangers in their midst are suffering… sometimes in the name of God.
All of that worship… and there is nothing different in their daily lives, or in the lives of their neighbors, because they have spent that time with God.
Des Moines University reports that nearly 30% of Polk County households were food insecure at some time during 2017. 30% of households couldn’t put enough food on the table.
The median income for African American households in Polk County is $26,725. That number is less than half of the median income for all households in the county.
86% of households earning less than $15,000 annually live in housing they cannot afford. That number of $15,000/year is a full-time job at minimum wage. The Polk County Housing Trust Fund estimates that 8,350 affordable units are needed in central Iowa to meet current needs. Based on fair-market rent for a two bedroom apartment, Des Moines/West Des Moines employees must make at least $16.83 an hour.
The impacts of these numbers:
Homeless children are 2x more likely to have a learning disability, repeat a grade, or be suspended from school.
Low-income students are 4x more likely to be chronically absent, often for reasons beyond their control due to unstable housing, unreliable transportation, or lack of health care.
Of third-grade students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, less than 60% read proficiently.
These are realities of our community.
These numbers reflect choices we have made as participants within it.
They reflect who we as employers hire and how much we choose to pay them.
They reflect the investments we’ve made in public education – how we support teachers, taxes, our giving of volunteer hours.
They reflect decisions about zoning, real estate investment, infrastructure, health care and who we have elected to make decisions about those policies.
They reflect the vast need for organizations like Hawthorn Hill and Bidwell Riverside.
And so God speaks:
I hate your worship.
Your prayers make me nauseous.
Organ or electric guitar… who cares? – I loathe your music.
You focus on the color of the carpet and what you sit on and I’ve had enough.
Your sermons offend me.
Who asked for the offering plate to be passed around?
That sweet smell of King’s Hawaiian bread at communion stinks.
Do you know why?
Because even though you hear my words and sing my praises, you live your lives as if none of it matters.
Stop.
Listen again to my words.
Pay attention to what I have called you to do.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
God is inviting us to not simply worship, but to go out and be in ministry with the most vulnerable people in our midst. As our call to worship reminded us – we are not here to tell God how awesome we are… we are here to remember how our awesome God hears the cries of the needy, hears OUR cries, and then responds through the hands and feet of every day people like you and me.
There is so much in this world that can distract us from that core purpose.
We find ourselves in competition with other churches to offer the best programs and attract the most people.
We get sucked in by the temptation we discussed in this week’s chapter of “Defying Gravity” to cling to the gifts and abundance in our lives, rather than holding them loosely and sharing them with others.
I personally find myself overwhelmed with the desire to keep the peace, to hear all of your various points of view and find the happy medium in decisions we make… that sometimes I forget to go back to the basics and ask what God wants us to do.
And so, we all need to hear these words from Isaiah.
We need to shake loose the cobwebs of our memory.
We need to allow these words jolt us back into alignment with God’s greater purpose for our work and worship together.
The good news is that we are already responding to this call in so many ways.
Our gifts to the DMARC Food Pantry Network put healthy food on the shelves at Bidwell-Riverside.
Our contributions in various special offerings have provided couches for the common space at Hawthorn Hill and playground equipment for their kids.
On a weekly basis, volunteers from Immanuel take milk and juice to the shelter for families to use over the weekend.
Through time, through prayers, through money, we are making an impact on those statistics I named earlier.
A young woman named Amie arrived at the New Directions Shelter, one of the ministries of Hawthorn Hill in October of 2014. She was a brand new mother and walked in off of the street with her newborn after Child Protective Services deemed their home environment was unsuitable. Amie and her daughter were able to stay at New Directions for about a month while she worked to make the adjustments and fill requirements from CPS. She was soon able to find an apartment and a job that would help her get back on her feet.
In her exit survey, Amie wrote:
“I just want to say thank you to everyone for helping me achieve my goals during my stay. I’m so blessed I found you all! I feel that New Directions has helped me become a better mother to my daughter!! There isn’t enough room on this paper to describe how grateful I am to you all! I would so love to give back one day and become a volunteer. Thank you so much!”
Since then, Amie has moved to a new job with Bidwell Riverside and was promoted to a Shift Supervisor. She is using her gifts and her compassion to help families experiencing food insecurity. She’s going back to school at DMAAC to work on an Associates in Human Services. And, she has gone back to New Directions to do volunteer work – helping to organize an Easter Egg for families who are there over the holidays.
This is what happens when we allow God’s greater purpose to lead us.
This is what happens when we create opportunities for vulnerable neighbors to be transformed… when we work with them, listen to them, and empower them to thrive.
When we don’t just sing about getting to heaven, but actively work to help our neighbors experience heaven right here.
When our worship and our witness stand up for the defenseless…
When our offerings are used not to build up our egos, but to build the Kingdom…
When we allow God’s word to shape and form not only this hour, but every hour of every day…
When we leave this sanctuary and head out into the world, still crying out – Here I am, Lord, send me…
Then we will have been transformed into the people we were meant to be by God.
Rich or poor, young or old, sinner or saint… we are all God’s children.
And God has a purpose for us.
